Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed Senate Bill 484, requiring large AI data centers to cover full power and infrastructure costs rather than subsidizing them through residential utility bills.
# Big data centers in Florida must pay full power and infrastructure costs under new law
Source: [https://cbs12.com/news/local/florida-governement-politics-news-governor-ron-desantis-big-data-centers-in-florida-must-pay-full-power-and-infrastructure-costs-under-new-law-loxahatchee-ai-data-center-local-palm-beach-county-power-artificial-intelligence-blocks-electric-utilities](https://cbs12.com/news/local/florida-governement-politics-news-governor-ron-desantis-big-data-centers-in-florida-must-pay-full-power-and-infrastructure-costs-under-new-law-loxahatchee-ai-data-center-local-palm-beach-county-power-artificial-intelligence-blocks-electric-utilities)
LAKELAND, Fla\. \(CBS12\) —Florida[Gov\. Ron DeSantis](https://cbs12.com/topic/Governor%20Ron%20DeSantis)on Thursday signed a new law aimed at reining in large\-scale data centers, saying everyday Floridians shouldn’t have to pay higher utility bills to support facilities that power artificial intelligence\.
The measure,[Senate Bill 484](https://www.flsenate.gov/Session/Bill/2026/484), blocks electric utilities from shifting the cost of serving massive data centers onto residential and small\-business customers\. Instead, those companies will be required to cover the full cost of their electric service, including infrastructure upgrades tied to their energy demands\.
“You should not pay one more red cent for electricity because of a hyper\-scale data center,” DeSantis said at the bill signing at Florida Polytechnic University\. He argued it’s unfair for local customers to subsidize some of the world’s wealthiest technology companies\.
The law directs the[Florida Public Service Commission](https://cbs12.com/topic/Florida%20Public%20Service%20Commission)to set new tariffs and service rules to make sure large users pay their own way\. It also preserves local governments’ ability to approve or reject data center projects, an issue that gained attention after earlier growth laws raised concerns about local control\.
**See also:[PHOTOS: 'Never\-before\-seen' UFO files released by the Trump administration](https://cbs12.com/news/nation-world/never-before-seen-ufo-files-released-by-the-president-donald-trump-administration-department-of-war-unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-uap-fbi-declassified-government-documents-transparency)**
Water use is also part of the package\. The legislation allows water management districts to deny permits if a proposed data center would harm water supplies and encourages the use of reclaimed water when available — a point DeSantis highlighted amid ongoing drought concerns in parts of the state\.
At the same time, the law lets local governments enter into non\-disclosure agreements with companies for up to a year, temporarily limiting public access to details about proposed projects\.
DeSantis called the bill a first step toward stronger oversight of data centers and artificial intelligence, an area where he has pushed for tighter regulations even as some related proposals stalled in the Legislature\.
Ohio has suspended a tax break for energy-hungry AI data centers as the industry faces growing scrutiny over costs and environmental impact, with state projections skyrocketing and lawmakers forming a study committee.
Senator Adam Schiff proposes the Energy Cost Fairness and Reliability Act requiring data centers over 50 megawatts to secure their own power, aiming to reduce energy costs for consumers amid rising AI data center electricity demands.
Virginia passed a first-of-its-kind electricity consumption tax on data centers, effective July 2026, with a $600M annual cap, as policymakers balance AI-driven power demand and infrastructure costs.
FERC orders grid operators to fast-track interconnection requests for AI data centers, aiming to ease grid bottlenecks but not addressing generating capacity shortages.